Simon Nemec legacy game wins it for the Devils, secures his spot in the NHL for good

Coming into this season, Simon Nemec was going to get an opportunity with the New Jersey Devils. Johnny Kovacevic is going to miss at least the first three months of the season, opening up a spot on the right side. Nemec played well in the playoffs when veterans started to go down, so it seemed like he regained his confidence. This was a chance for him to never play in the AHL again.

However, it was far from guaranteed. He had Devils' top prospect, Seamus Casey, on his tail in the preseason. Some were even calling for Casey to make the team over Nemec. Casey was injured in the preseason, giving Nemec the opening to waltz to the starting lineup. 

Nemec struggled to start the year. His mistakes were glaring, and his offensive acumen wasn’t keeping up. Don’t get us wrong, he was getting offensive opportunities, but they didn’t go in as much as his mistakes led to goals against. 

Then, other Devils defensemen started to go down. First, it was Brett Pesce. After that, Dougie Hamilton went down. All of a sudden, Simon Nemec was all that was left on the right side. He started playing big minutes, and all of a sudden, the mistakes were fewer and further between. It makes little sense, but it’s how it worked. 

It got even better when the lines got jumbled and he was paired with Jonas Siegenthaler. That pairing worked really well in the playoffs, and with Hamilton out of the lineup, Sheldon Keefe had an opportunity to put Nemec back with his best partner. Siegenthaler is struggling this season, so it might get his game back on track, too.

Nemec started to add 5v5 offense, and that took a step forward on Monday when he scored the game-tying goal with 4.7 seconds left against the New York Islanders. On Wednesday, he took it to another level.

Nemec scored a hat trick to beat the Chicago Blackhawks. He scored the game-tying goal with less than four minutes left in the game. It was a great positioning by him, finding open space to the right of Spencer Knight. Nemec was the only one who seemed to have Knight’s number, as he was constantly stoning Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, and Nico Hischier. 

Then, in overtime, Nemec took advantage of a change by the Blackhawks. He skated around them as the puck went to Jacob Markstrom. Markstrom sent a saucer pass down the ice, and Nemec was in all alone. 

The goal was historic, as Nemec is the youngest defenseman in NHL history to score a hat trick and an OT goal in the same game. He’s also just the third Devils’ defenseman to score a hat trick in franchise history.

This was a legacy game for Nemec and one we won’t forget for a long time. It also makes it impossible to ever take him out of the lineup. The former second-overall pick is an NHL player for good, and this game was the rubber stamp to make it official. 

The Devils will have hard decisions to make when Kovacevic, Pesce, and Hamilton come back, but one thing is for sure, Nemec isn’t coming out of the lineup.